Detachable sporting-shoe mud cleat



March 13, 1934. w. T. CLARK 1,950,972

DETACHABLE SPORTING SHOE MUD own Filed Feb. 25. 1929 47,1; i ii Fig.6.

. Z 5 dk 3 v 2 9 v INVENTOR. Z mLL/AM TI CLARK ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-lcs The invention relates to mud cleats designed for use upon the shoes which are worn by the players in various athletic exercises.

It comprises a plate designed forpermanent 5 attachment to the sole of the shoe worn by the player, said plate being provided with means for receiving and anchoring in position, cleats of improved form which may be easily applied and removed, when replacement becomes necessary.

It further resides in a cleat of peculiar construction, certain novel features of which cooperate with the locking member to secure and anchor the cleat in position upon the attached plate.

It further resides in a removable locking element designed to engage both the said plate and cleat and firmly maintain the cleat in operative position upon the shoe, and yet be capable of easy removal when replacement becomes necessary.

Certain other novel features entering into the construction of the cleat, enable it to be applied to shoes provided with anchoring means of an older construction, now in general use.

In the foregoing I have outlined the nature and purposes of my invention. In that which follows I have described in detail the structural features of the improvement. In the appended claims I have pointed out the novelty residing in my invention.

In the accompanying drawing: Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through the sole of a shoe showing one form of anchoring plate and locking means, with a cleat of improved form secured in position with the parts sectioned to show the construction.

Fig. 2 is a view looking from the bottom of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view' similar to Fig. 1, showing the preferred form of locking and anchoring means.

Fig. 4 is a view looking from the bottom of Fig. 3, and showing also in phantom, a spanner wrench, which I may use to operate the lockin means shown in the preceding views. I

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on its axial line, of the specially constructed metal stamping, which forms the anchorage for the cleat.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 3, showing the older form of cleat anchoring post, but permitting the adaption of my improved cleat thereto.

In the drawing the numeral 10 indicates the sole of a shoe. Ordinarily, see Fig. 6, a post 11 in the form of a bolt is passed through the sole of the shoe from the inner side, the said bolt being provided with a convex head 12 of low altitude and a threaded end 13, receiving a nut 14, which is applied from the outside, and caused to clamp the sole 10 between the head 12 and the said nut. The threaded end 13 of the post 11 projects beyond the outer face of the nut sufficiently to permit the application thereto of a cleat of the older form, in which the nut is embedded and forms the sole means of attaching the cleat to the shoe.

Applied to the outer side of the sole of the shoe is a metal plate 15, Fig. 1, having formed thereon an outwardly extending circular flange 16, the inside of which is provided with a thread. A locking ring 17, threaded on its exterior surface, is adapted to have its threads engaged with those of the flange 16,. as will be understood from the drawing. The locking ring 17 is provided with a tapering bore, as illustrated, for a purpose which later will be described.

As stated before, Fig. 3 shows my invention in its preferred form, in the manufacture of which the operations are somewhat simplified. In Fig. 3, I apply to the sole of the shoe a metal plate 18, of circular form, and threaded upon its periphery. In connection with the plate 18, I employ a locking ring 19, provided at one side with an enlarged bore which is threaded to corre-' spond with the plate 18, and is adapted to be screwed thereon. The continuation of the bore through the ring 19 is tapered, as before.

The plates 15 and 18 are perforated for the reception of clenching nails, to be driven through the sole of the. shoe, so as to fix the said plates firmly thereto. It is preferable that the metal of the said plates surrounding the perforations be displaced at one side, so as to form projecting bosses 20, which will sink into the sole of the shoe and opposite depressions 21, in which the heads of the clench nails may lie and be within the side lines of the plate, so-as to avoid any exterior obstructions. The purpose in providing the projecting bosses 20 on the plates, is that the bosses will be depressed and embedded in the sole of the shoe, and by the increased area of contact, which is much larger than that of the usual nails, a greater resistance to the pressure will be opposed in the tendency of the plate to rotate and become loose, when the locking ring is turned into position. Both forms of locking rings are provided with radial notches, 22 in Figs. 1 and 2 and 23 in Figs. 3 and 4, so as to permit the application of a spanner wrench, such as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, to turn the rings to anchoring position, and to release them when application or replacement of a cleat becomes necessary. r

The numeral 24 indicates a cleat in the form of a rigid, non-collapsible truncated cone produced from indurated flber or other suitable material, the base of the cone being hollowed out substantially according to Figs. 1, 3 and 6, to form a space in which may be received the looking nut 14, when the improved cleat is applied to shoes equipped with the older form of bolt, as in Fig. 6. The wall of the hollowed out portion is approximately parallel with the sides of the cone, as indicated at 25, and such hollowed out portion is continued by a central bore 26, for a purpose which later will be described. If the grain of the cleat extends in the direction of its axis a more durable structure will be produced.

Fig. 5 illustrates .the metal stamping 27 of special cup form, which constitutes the means through which the cleat 24 is maintained upon the shoe. The said stamping is struck from a circular plate and provided with a flange 28, which extends in parallelism with the axis of the stamping. The central portion of the bottom of the stamping is depressed and shaped so as to form a line contact with the hollowed out portion in the base of the cleat 24, the depressed portionbeing continued in a tubular extension 29, adapted to fit in the ho e 26 of the cleat. The extension is threaded in riorly, to increase the adaptability of the cleat.

The cleat having its base hollowed out and bored as previously described, is pressed upon the stamped member 27, so that the base of the cone and the interior surfaces are in close engagement withthe correspondingly formed surfaces of. the stamped member, with the tubular extension 29 entered in the'bore 26. The parallel flange 28 is then reduced so that the converging walls tightly embrace thetapering cone at its base, and firmly secure the cone against displacement from its flxed position in the stamping.

To prevent the cleat from rotating after it has been positioned upon the plate 15 or 18, I form depressions 30 in the bottom of the stamping near its margin, and these are 'entered by slight projections or burs 31 formed on the said plates.

The manner of anchoring the cleat. in position, through the locking ring, will be understood from what has been heretofore stated. In applying the improved cleat to the older structures, as in Fig. 6, it is necessary only to screw the threaded tubular portion of the extension 29 upon the projecting threaded end 13 of the post 11.

-It is necessary only in cases where the cleat is to be affixed to shoes having bolts 12 that the bottom of the conical cleat be hollowed out, and that the stamping be formed as described and shown in Fig. 6. I regard it as within the scope of my invention to form the stamped member 2'7 as a simple cup with a flat bottom, and to contract the flange or walls of the cup so as to embrace the tapering sides of the cone in the region of the base thereof, to adapt the cleat to use in connection with the locking ring, as in Figs. 1 and 3.

The detachment of the cleat from the shoe, and its replacement by another, can be made without disturbing any permanent fastening means, such as is generally used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a shoe-cleat, a plate for attachment to the sole of a shoe, a cleat formed as a cone with its base hollowed out, a metal part of corresponding cross section disposed in the said hollowed out portion and embracing the exterior of the cleat .at the base of the latter, and means engaging the said metal part to secure the cleat upon the sole of the shoe.

2. In a shoe-cleat, a plate having a threaded portion for attachment to the sole of a shoe, a cleat formed as a cone, a metal stamping embracing the tapering sides of the cone near its base, and a threaded locking ring provided with a tapering opening for engaging the said stamping to secure the cleat in position upon the said plate.

3. In a shoe-cleat, a circular metal plate having a threaded periphery for attachment to the .sole of, a shoe, a cleat formed as a cone, a metal part with a tapering surface attached to the cleat at the bottom thereof and embracing the tapering sides of the conenear its base to secure the said metal part and cone together, and a ring having a tapering opening to engage the tapering metal part at the base of the cone, the said ring being interiorly threaded for locking engagement with the periphery of the said circular metal plate.

4. In a shoe-cleat, a metal plate for attachment to the sole of a shoe, a cleat formed as a cone, a metal part embracing the cone at its base and connecting the two elements together, and means for securing the cone through its attached metal part to the said plate, the said metal plate and metal part being provided with interengaging elements to maintain the cleat against rotation upon the metal plate.

5. A cleat attachment for shoes compriisng a flat disc of substantial diameter and exteriorly threaded, means for flrmly attaching the disc to a shoe sole to present an uninterrupted smooth outer surface, a retaining ring in threaded union with the disc, the same having a restricted mouth, and a call: having an enlarged base for nested engagement with the ring mouth. 

